Page:A History of the Knights of Malta, or the Order of St. John of Jerusalem.djvu/250

224 days for a Grand-Master, on being elected to, pay the sum of three crowns to every knight to defray the cost of mourning for his defunct predecessor. It is recorded that Lastic had to raise a loan of 12,000 gold forms to meet this charge. Hence it may be seen that the ranks of the fraternity were well filled.

The Ottoman emperor was at this time fully occupied with the war in Hungary and the revolt in Epirus; but the sultan of Egypt, whose hands were free, was evidently meditating hostilities against the knights. Up to this time the Ottoman emperor had generally acted as a check upon the Egyptians, the jealousy raging between the two Moslem powers being even stronger than their animosity against their Christian neighbours. On the present occasion, however, Mourad declined to offer any opposition to the Egyptian enterprise, even if he did not, as is very probable, secretly support it. After vain attempts at negotiation with both sultans, de Lastic perceived that the issue must be decided by arms. He therefore strengthened his position by every possible means, and then quietly awaited the coming of the enemy. At length, in the month of September, 1440, the Egyptian fleet, to the number of eighteen galleys, accompanied by many smaller craft, appeared before Rhodes. The intrepid conduct of the inhabitants prevented the Moslems from attempting an immediate disembarkation. Before they had decided upon their line of conduct the fleet of the Order, led by their grand-marshal, left the harbour and advanced to the attack. The Egyptians declined the action, and under cover of night beat a retreat. The marshal, suspecting their object, pushed rapidly after them, and so compIeely out-sailed them that when they appeared before the castle of Lango they found him already there awaiting their arrival. Seeing that their design was thus rendered fruitless they proceeded to the mainland, where they took shelter under the guns of a Turkish fort. The marshal, who spurned the thought of returning to Rhodes without having made any attempt on his enemy, dashed at the hostile fleet as it lay at anchor, and a sanguinary engagement ensued without any very decisive result. The Order lost sixty men, which, in their small force, was a serious blow. Their antagonists, on the other hand, lost 700 men, and had several of their galleys seriously injured. Taking these figures in con-